Rising 30 feet above Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas’ medical district is a glass-enclosed sky bridge connecting the current hospital to the new state-of-the-art Parkland Memorial Hospital. The sky bridge will serve as the primary pedestrian walk way between the new hospital and those services remaining in their current location.

Viewed from outside, images of trees etched in glass above the street on the 923-foot long Mike A. Myers Sky Bridge mirror those on the new hospital. From the inside, the tree branches and leaves are formed by names of more than 10,700 individuals, paid for by 4,732 donors to the I Stand for Parkland campaign. A kiosk will help individuals find their names on the bridge.

One of the design goals for the new hospital was “to put the ‘park’ back in Parkland.”

“The shape of the columns that hold up the bridge are designed to resemble the forked tree trunks,” said Lou Saksen, Senior Vice President of New Parkland Construction. “All of the trees and landscape that had to be removed as part of the bridge construction were surveyed. Our plans are to put them back in their original place or another location on the new Parkland campus.”

The sky bridge begins on the second floor of the new Parkland and ends at the third floor connector between the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Sprague Building and the current hospital. The bridge is 14 feet wide at both ends and widens to 16 feet over Harry Hines. It is climate controlled, lit with energy-saving dimmable LED lighting, has fire, smoke and water sprinkler controls and is technologically integrated with Parkland’s communications services.

Above the sky bridge ceiling is a 6-tube pneumatic system that connects the new and current Parkland campuses. Parkland received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the sky bridge on June 23. The sky bridge will be in use when the new Parkland opens Aug. 20.

“Regardless of the time of day, the sky bridge will provide a safe and secure way to travel from one side of the campus to the other,” Saksen added.